Asbury United Methodist Church
National Register of Historic Places

Asbury United Methodist Church

Washington, District of Columbia County, District of Columbia
Listed
November 1, 1986
Type
Building
Period
Early Republic
Ref No.
86003029

About this property

Asbury United Methodist Church, founded in 1836 as Asbury Chapel, is the oldest black United Methodist church in Washington, D.C. Located on the corner of 11th and K Streets Northwest, it was placed on the District of Columbia Register of Historic Places on November 1, 1986. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. In 2003, the National Park Service approved the listing of Asbury on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Founded in 1836, the church was a pioneer of African-American Methodism in Washington, D.C., and of social history through abolition, Emancipation, Reconstruction, and the Civil Rights movement. It is the city's oldest African-American church to remain on its original site. A new building on the same site was completed in 1870. The current building was designed by Clarence Lowell Handing and built in 1915–1916 in the English Gothic Revival architectural style. In the 1920s, the building had alterations by African American architect, William Wilson Cooke. In December 2020, the congregation's Black Lives Matter banner was burned during an event for President Donald Trump, an action the congregation's senior pastor described as "reminiscent of cross burnings". In January 2021, Enrique Tarrio, chairman of the Proud Boys, was arrested in relation to the incident. On July 15, 2021, the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced Asbury United Church as one of 40 sites and organizations to receive $3 million in grants from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. The grant is to be used for repairs to the church’s wood windows and bell tower masonry, as well as repointing and cleaning of its stone facade.

Location

Washington, District of Columbia County, District of Columbia
38.90240, -77.02710

Categories

BLACKRELIGIONSOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

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Questions about this property

When was Asbury United Methodist Church listed on the National Register?

Asbury United Methodist Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 1, 1986.

What type of historic resource is Asbury United Methodist Church?

Asbury United Methodist Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Asbury United Methodist Church?

The period of significance for Asbury United Methodist Church is recorded as the early_republic era, specifically around 1836.

Can I research the history near Asbury United Methodist Church?

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